C F 9

This is what I long to see every time my feet touch the goregaon platform. This 3 magical alpha-numeric combination heralds my mode of travel home. And I am not the only one… almost all mumbaikars who travel by train have their personal favourite alpha-numeric combinations! Let me help you understand the magic behind these combinations. The first which is C announces to the travelers the ultimate destination (read home in my case!!) to be Churchgate. One of the main starting and ending points of a train – Churchgate is one of the oldest stations of Mumbai – and my personal favourite as it means I am HOME! :-)

The second in line tells us if we are going to fly towards our destination or walk towards it.. let me explain this better – F equals to the speed of the train, in this case “Fast” meaning that the train would halt at only a few main stations on the route instead of all the stations. This is a boon train as it cuts down the travel time by anywhere between 10 to 25 mins depending on the route! If by chance you see “S” and are not going to one of the smaller stations – please do yourself a favour and wait for a Fast train!! Heheehe

Last and not the least the number 9 – this tells me if I need to get off the foot bridge and walk to the ladies compartment (yes we have separate ones!) or if I see a 12 then I need to run a little away to where the ladies compartment would arrive on the platform. Yes, you are correct 9 and 12 relate to the number of compartments or in our Mumbai language “dabbas” of the train that we are about to catch.

Yes, the trains are our lifelines to our daily lives. We live and breathe the timings of the certain trains we catch to work and back home. They constitute a part of our everyday conversations. They give refuge in the rain and from the sun. They allow you to make “train buddies”. They give you the opportunity to buy little knick-knacks and jewellery from the young vendors. They give you the chance to catch up on your reading and studying and your music! So look for me in the C F 9 sitting near the window seat… :-)

Shake, Aim, Spray..

Have u ever spray painted? If not you definitely need to try it!

A group of us had been given spray cans to decorate (heheehe) the bare walls of our yet to be painted new office walls.. There were shouts of joy as each of us grabbed our respective cans and rushed to various corners of the floor. The energy from our veins flowed through our fingers pressed down on the nozzles of the cans to emerge as a rainbow of colours.

We started off with our initials and names and went on to painting elephants, the world, scenery and an assortment of graffiti. The fun thing about it all was how all of us interacted with each other while trying to outdo the others’ graffiti thru our creativity! Shouts of “Do u have the red can?” “Where is the yellow gone?” to “Hey add some more colour here!” greeted the few workers around who definitely thought we all had good MAD! :-)

All in all it was one of the best stress busters that one could have! I think all of us should have one blank wall at home / at work to use to show our creative side and also to be our big time stress busters! So what are u waiting for? Shake, Aim, Spray! :-)

Those were the days, my friend…

“Those were the days, my friend

We thought they'd never end

We'd sing and dance forever and a day

We'd live the life we'd choose

We'd fight and never lose

For we were young and sure to have our way”

How many of us have at one time or another thought these words or expressed them to someone? I know I have - time and time again, wishing for those days of carefree existence when the most important thing in my life was if I would pass the algebra test in class 9! And as I grew the important things in life went through a variety of changes..

My school days also remain etched in my memory. Like the day when I was chosen to dance with a troupe at the Asian Track n Field Meet, Delhi when I was only in the 9th std at school - the feeling of exceptional joy tinged with a little excitement towards the adventure ahead! School days also bring memories of representing my school in the inter-school throw ball tournaments, representing my Green house in the table tennis tournament, being a prefect in the 10th std and dressing up in saris for Teacher’s Day. Must tell u about how Teacher’s Day was celebrated at my school – all the 10th std students dressed up in saris for that day, and after having pre-decided which teachers we would be representing we would go to the classes and try and teach the other students! The teachers used to perform a skit, dance for all the students in school and the day used to end with all of us eating orange candies! :-)

Those were the days when I used to sit on the window ledge of my college canteen and sip a cutting chai all the while being confident that my attendance proxy was been given in the dull economics lecture! I can still feel the butterflies in my stomach as I stood in the wings of the Xavier’s college stage waiting for my music to play as I stepped out to represent my college in the Individual Dance category at Malhar (an inter-collegiate competition). The days when I used to sit in the college library with my walkman (yeah no IPods then!) and try to figure out how to tally balance sheets for my T.Y. exams seem like only yesterday.

Those were the days when I used to go to VT station at 11 on a sat night to go for a monsoon trek to Matheran in the wee hours of sun morning! Also, the experience of staying in a tent during a camp with girl guides is one that I think everyone should have! You can hear a million sounds in the still of the night under a tent's cover! Have you ever been rappelling and rock climbing? I have done these activities at matheran and they were awesome!!

There were the days when I did really crazy things like sign up and attend Mumbai’s first speed dating event, dance for a full day from 10 in the morning to 6.30 in the evening for a MTV grind shoot at Famous studios and come on TV too! The days when I partied the whole night and sat with friends on marine drive in the wee hours of the morning and then go to work after a few hours!

As I write this post, I realise that I have done so much and I truly treasure those days gone by and I wish they never end…

The long (short) ride home…

As I stepped into the Sumo for the ride home in the company provided drop facility, I greeted my fellow travelers with joy, as I hadn’t been meeting them regularly. After making sure that all of us were seated comfortably, the driver got in and started the journey with a powerful roar of the engine.

As we sped towards a turn I wished aloud that he would slow down once he tackled the turn in the road. But to my dismay the turn was taken at the same speed, though he did slow down to let us get off and buy some ice cream to cool ourselves off in the dead, still, summer night. After buying our ice creams we stopped at a signal – when the light changed to green our car shot ahead with a gust of speed – trust me if we were traveling vertically, we would have reached the outer layers of the Earth’s atmosphere! We all grabbed onto our seats and wondered what was wrong with the driver. The drive became more of a rollercoaster ride as the driver sped in between rickshaws and other smaller cars, prompting my colleague to say that the driver assumed he was riding a bike rather than navigating a huge car like the Sumo!

As we turned towards the highway, our car almost kissed a truck coming from the other side.. this led us to speculate as to why the driver was in such a hurry!! I wondered aloud if there was some person (read girl) that he was to meet and was in a hurry to drop us off so that he could get the extra 5 mins with her. A colleague of mine, with a naughty smile said, “Well either it is of two things – one that he really, really needs to go to the bathroom to relieve himself or that he is really constipated and his stomach hurts!!” As we joked about the ride home, we noticed that as he approached the roads of south Mumbai he became slightly less rash on the main roads. Hence, it took us by surprise when after dropping a passenger off, he suddenly got taken over by the speed bug and started driving with a vengeance once again!! What was it with narrow streets and speed?? I mean what thrills was he getting in maneuvering the huge car through parked cars, pedestrians and narrow roads??

As we speculated about this strange night and the stranger ride home, another night ride came to my mind. This was also a night drop from office to home, wherein the driver had just come from gaon (out of town) and was driving on Mumbai roads for the first time! We guided him all the way to town and as we were entering south Mumbai, he suddenly realized that he was out of diesel.. We stopped at a petrol pump and after filling the tank, the car suddenly refused to start! The two guys with me along with the driver started pushing the car (on a slope I might add) without much help when a mechanic from the petrol pump walked across to us, opened the bonnet of the car, jiggled a part around and all of a sudden the car worked! As we resumed our journey we suddenly heard the driver murmuring something under his breath, and after every two lines of murmuring he would look at us – this totally creeped us out until one of us asked what the problem was and with a very straight and innocent look the driver confessed that he was praying for good luck as a few streets ago, a black cat had passed the car’s path!!

Though tonight wasn’t as creepy as that night, the driver still kept us on the edge and off our seats with the way he drove. I have reached home safely in one piece and am glad that I am able to write to you about my long (short) ride home and tomorrow someone at the office will hear about the driver!

Cheers to Platonic Relationships!

“Earghhhh.. Why, just why, can’t men be ONLY friends???” This cry of anguish greeted me as I approached my friend and as I looked at the source of the cry I realised that this was a serious cry for help!! Upon asking the reason for this outbreak the answer I received was vaguely familiar – why is it that when we women meet and hang out with a guy as a friend, he immediately assumes that he is getting a girlfriend or worse still – a wife!!

This makes me think, are there or can there ever be platonic relationships between a man and a woman? From the experiences that I hear I think men don’t know when friendship ends and when “I like you more than a friend.” starts.. Is it that we as women know how to differentiate between our feelings or is it that when we get into a relationship whether a friendship or a courtship we know when to draw the line? Do men see beyond a woman’s compassion, her smile, her laughter? Why can’t they accept us women as part of their group, their friend circle? Is it because if they didn’t go beyond friendship their friends would make fun of them?

On the flipside, why can’t women take men as friends also? I also know of girls who literally “throw” themselves onto men with the intention of making them their boyfriends or husbands. Even if men want to just hang out with the girl because he actually liked her company, her sense of humour, her dressing sense, why do women see and want beyond that?? Why do women think that men are after getting them into bed with them and nothing else?

Is the concept of platonic relationships alien to us or is it that we deep down inside want more always? Or is it just a case of miscommunication? Is it that we are misunderstood somewhere down the line and things take a turn for the worse (or better)? I feel that communication is important whether we want to continue as friends or as lovers in the relationship and this communication needs to be made straightforward and in simple English so that we don’t come to a stage when we have to say “Why, oh why!!” Platonic relationships are the ones that stand the test of time and they are the ones to which we turn to in times of trouble or in times of happiness and sadness, in laughter or in tears – so here’s to Platonic Relationships! Cheers!!

Comfortably numb…

The party started out with some weird, never heard of, trance like music…

The invitees took solace in the free flowing alcohol and the assorted starters. I entered to find chunks of groups surrounding plates filled with the starters which vanished in a blink of an eye into the depths of the hungry stomachs. After making my presence known I headed to wet my palette. As I waited for my drink I looked around to those who were in the 3 stages of drinking - the first like me wetting our parched throats; the second who were well into their 3rd or 4th drinks and were mingling with those around them and then the third stage which at times may get embarrassing or may provide immense entertainment to onlookers wherein the drinkers were in a blissful state and looked at the world thru rose coloured glasses!

As the crowd started to grow the music became louder though it still lacked any kind of melody. Suddenly one saw groups of men starting to dance to the music (?) and I watched them as I sipped on my drink.

Free booze.. there are always pros and cons to this!! The biggest PRO is that well you can drink and drink and drink and drink and drink and drink and…. Hehehe and of course the CON is that after drinking all of that you end up either hugging people of the same and the opposite sex, hitting on the girl/boy who you see everyday at work but dared not smiled at, getting rid of all the ingredients in your stomach (usually by soiling some poor old soul’s shoes or jeans!) or you just end up holding your head in your hands or resting it on the back of a sofa! And trust me I saw all of that and some more! ;-) oh yes and how can we forget what the rush of alcohol through your veins does to your system! You can suddenly see people twisting their bodies in all odd concoctions (which would put a contortionist to shame!) in tune (or out of it) to the music. On the other hand you will see the ones who become very silent and start becoming sentimental and start telling you how they love you so much and how you mean so much to them!

Dancing – a must at any and every party. How can we do without it? Hehehehe well there was lots of dancing which ranged from salsa to jive to hip-hop to weird bhangra stances to even weirder and difficult to imitate body movements… there were men dancing with men (weird but wht to do when the boy-girl ratio demands it), girls with men and groups and then there were the lucky ones who managed to have a dance with a member of the opposite sex! In addition to this there were groups around the dance floor dancing the night away. Yes, yours truly danced too (though had to take care of my injured ankle!) and I enjoyed myself immensely!! :-)

The party carried on till 1.30 a.m. and though we all had to report to work the next day we all wished that the music could go on a little longer! And at the end of the party as I was on my way home I was “comfortably numb” as I recalled the fun and frolic of the spent evening.

Facekut - A boon or a curse? :-)

Social Networking - The latest trend and buzz in today's internet driven world.

How did we come to rely on this virtual means of communication to get in touch with our lost friends, our relatives, our neighbours? We have all, in some way or the other succumbed to the virtual lures of the networking giants.

There used to be a time when we used to keep in touch thru tel calls, thru letters written with colourful ink, today, we scrap each other or we leave a msg on one's funwall.. Don't get me wrong, I for one also use these sites but it has somehow become like a status symbol among today's generation.. I mean am I a not a “hep person” if I don't have my profile on one of the sites? And the site that u feature on is important too! I remember a time when we only had fropper.com - remember it? Then we had other smaller sites but all changed when the tidal wave brought with it Orkut THE social networking site! After the onset of orkut we had a new verb in our vocabulary - scrapping! Even if I met u everyday at work I would still go home and scrap u just to say hi - does this take away our inter-personal skills? As if this was not enough, while everyone was engrossed scrapping, around the corner slipped in without much of a bang the next best thing in networking (or so they say!) – Facebook! And the cycle starts again - are u on Facebook as yet? No? Get on it what are u waiting for! :-)

I have used both sites and have enjoyed both but in terms of connecting with my old friends, I achieved that only on facebook when I got in touch with my school friends all over the world which gives me that additional boost to login to facebook first then onto orkut.. In fact, I feel that the loyalties have shifted to facebook these days… hmmm wonder why?

Personally, I feel that social networking sites should be used to get in touch with people who are geographically away from u than with those who are in the same room as you! Weird are the ways of our world that we so want to belong to…

At the lights...

Green… Amber… Red…

A slight screeching of brakes.. Tires stopped in motion… release of the clutch… switching off the ignition…

These are the first few reactions to the change in the signal lights. Ever wonder what else happens while waiting for the green light to appear in our lives once again?

The motorbike rider near me removes his helmet to speak on his cell. A lady in a Honda City turns her rear view mirror while reaching for her purse and removing her eye liner starts the art of decorating her eyelids.. And uncle with the wire framed glasses reads the newspaper with utmost concentration while his driver stares thru the windshield into his own world… while the little girl holds up a bunch of white roses to sell to the couple in the rickshaw are too engrossed in each other’s eyes to give her a glance…

And as the hands go towards the ignition keys, I look up to see the reversal of the lights… Red… Amber… Green…

"Hi, how are you today?"

“You know, we work in the same office and meet each other every day but this is the first time we have really spoken!”

These were her parting words as she bade good night and left the train. One of my office colleagues said this to me yesterday evening. We had just spent the last 40 mins in the train speaking about ourselves, our families, our interests etc and getting to know each other a little more. And after she left I realised that there was more to her than I saw every day at work.

Are we so caught up in life and ourselves that we ignore others around us? Shouldn't we remove time to know more about the girl who just wished u good morning in the corridor or the guy who paid Rs. 2 on your behalf to the canteen guy as you had run out of change? As individuals we get so caught up in our own small self-created world that we forget there is another land out there - one that is as exciting and as fun as the one we have here.. Have we as individuals today decided not to encroach onto spaces that don't include us and our fancies?

There is a lot that we close ourselves to which when explored puts new perspectives on life around us. Isn't it time that we sat up and smelt the roses on the other side? That we become aware of the opposite person? And maybe swap stories and experiences with them?

So next time u see the girl who wished u this morning sitting alone in the canteen walk up to her with a smile and say, "hi how are u doing today?" and maybe, just maybe you will make her day!

Enter at your own risk!

As I get into one of the many three wheeled death traps, I hope that I will reach my destination in one piece…

Firstly, I glance to the meter to check if it has been started correctly or I will end up paying for the driver’s 2 extra pegs for the evening.. After settling myself in the middle of the seat – the safest place I might add, I brace myself for the journey ahead.

These small black n yellow pea-sized transporters are driven by a variety of men… Let me enlighten you about some of them… There are the younger ones who think they are the next Schumacher on the Montreal track overtaking all the Williams n the Jordans on the way… Then you have the ones who sit sideways on the driver’s seat and so much on the edge that I fear on one of the sharp turns I will end up with a ghost driver! There are those who are talkative and give you a guided tour of the passing roads or will divulge age old wisdom and advice about the poverty and the govt all in one breath! The best ones are those that give you a smile and nod their heads when guided to take the first left and then the second right after the signal…

And now I introduce the ones that make us wince in pain, those who test our limits of patience and whom at times we could readily strangle with our bare hands!! Yes, they are of two types – ones that refuse to let u sit in their chariots especially when you need to get to work early that very day for a meeting and then there are the ones that refuse to give you the change after blatantly accusing us that it is our responsibility to keep exact change in our pockets!!

Having said that, let me describe some of the memorable interiors of these transporters – they vary from being completely simple and bare with 2 side mirrors with simple passenger seats covered with black to red to blue raxine covers to the elaborate ones which have huge speakers screaming the latest hindi songs into your ears with posters of hindi actors/actresses adorning the inner walls, with seats covered with printed towels under clear plastic sheets… And yes, last but not the least, if you peek under the driver’s handles you will see suspended on a white string, 7 green chillies, 1 lemon and 1 piece of charcoal kept there to ward off evil spririts…

Welcome to the Auto Rickshaws of amchi Mumbai which are the lifelines of the road transport in the suburbs… Enter at your own risk! ;-)